Chapter 648: Locals

Li Banfeng spent over three hours practicing how to control the copper coin, using the "Jia Zhen Zi Shu" technique the entire time. During these three hours, his energy was completely drained, his face turned pale, and he was drenched in sweat.

The Gramophone felt sorry for him but didn't stop him. Li Banfeng rarely refined his techniques, and while "Jia Zhen Zi Shu" was a cornerstone skill for House Cultivators and one of his strongest, the Gramophone still felt it was somewhat lacking.

After those three hours, it couldn't be said that Li Banfeng had mastered the technique, but at least in the Gramophone's view, it was now worthy of a third-level Cloud Cultivation.

The Golden Coin was completely subdued. Now, it understood Li Banfeng simply by him speaking, without the need for any special techniques.

"Stand up!"The Golden Coin stood in Li Banfeng's palm.

"Dance!"The Golden Coin spun several times in his palm.

"Give me a smile!"The Golden Coin pulled the Copper Coin over. The two coins stacked together, the Golden Coin acting as the upper lip and the Copper Coin as the lower, and they clattered with laughter for a long time.

Li Banfeng patted the Golden Coin. "Good coin!"The Golden Coin rubbed against his fingertip and then slipped into his pocket.

The remaining copper coin, Li Banfeng handed to his wife. His wife sealed it with steam and said, "Husband, this copper coin is a valuable item. If you ever find more, please don't throw them away. Hand them all over to your little servant to keep."

Li Banfeng was surprised. "This is considered valuable?"

"Yes, it's genuinely valuable. However many you find, your little servant will help you collect them."

"Alright, I'll go out and search around then." Li Banfeng stood up, about to leave.

The Gramophone, full of affection, stopped Li Banfeng. "My dear husband, please take this person away first. No one in the house is hungry."

He almost forgot one thing: Zhu Yugui was still alive.

Just now, the glove had extracted two coins from his body, and Zhu Yugui, injured and in pain, had fainted.

Li Banfeng glanced at Zhu Yugui. "Wife, this guest has already entered our home. There's no reason to let him leave. How about you consume his soul, and I'll take his body outside?"

His wife gave a wry smile. "If I go to the trouble of eating him, will they not need to use their chopsticks? Husband, that logic doesn't make sense!"

"Then what do you think we should do, my wife?"

The Gramophone thought for a moment, then said to Li Banfeng, "Husband, leave the Blood-Infused Pendulum here; your little servant will handle the rest."

Li Banfeng left, handing the Blood-Infused Pendulum to the Gramophone.

The pendulum trembled with fear. The Gramophone poked its face with the needle. "Little sister, do you want to eat a soul?"

The pendulum retreated into a corner of the main room. "How dare I compete with you for food, Madam?"

"You dare not? Then I'll give you courage! Eat to your heart's content!"

Zhu Yugui still reeked. The pendulum, covered in dew, said with a trembling voice, "Madam, I cannot eat souls."

A puff of steam hit it, and the pendulum shrieked, turning bright red from the scalding.

The Gramophone chuckled. "Back in the old desolate mansion, you controlled dozens, even hundreds, of spirits. And now you tell me you don't eat souls? Do you even believe that yourself?"

The pendulum glanced at Zhu Yugui again. "Madam, I truly cannot stomach this."

The Gramophone softened its tone. "Little sister, you're almost pregnant. How will you get fat if you're so picky?"

Hearing that its secret was out, the pendulum quickly begged for mercy. "Madam, I know I was wrong. Please spare me this once, Madam..."

The Gramophone gently stroked the pendulum's cheek and said softly, "Silly sister, if you want a body, why didn't you just tell me? Could I have stopped you? Could you have kept it a secret? I'm telling you to eat this soul for your own good. Your soul isn't complete right now, and if you get a body, you won't be able to control it. Hurry up and eat this soul!" Another burst of steam hit, and the pendulum was almost melted.

With the Gramophone speaking so directly, the pendulum felt ashamed and dared not argue further. It sobbed as it consumed the soul.

The Gramophone was quite satisfied. "Good sister, chew carefully, eat slowly, and savor the taste. Once you're done, Honglian can eat."

*Swish!*

In the second room, Honglian closed its flower petals, looking like an ornament, sitting motionless on the ground.

Seeing that the pendulum had finished the soul, the Gramophone let out a cold snort. "If Honglian doesn't eat, then you all can share. Choose for yourselves!"

Upon hearing this, Hong Ying glanced at Ninth Mistress.

Ninth Mistress stepped forward and held Honglian down, while Hong Ying pried open its petals.

After leaving the Portable Residence, Li Banfeng found Tan Jinxiao. "Old Tan, I know you're never timid in what you do. Today, I'm going to help you remove the mark. Do you dare or not?"

"Why wouldn't I dare?" Tan Jinxiao said without hesitation. "Seventh Master, if that thing can be removed, even if I die here, I'll die cleanly. I'll walk the Yellow Springs Road with my back straight!"

This man was truly a brave soul. Li Banfeng took out a music box and played a tune for Tan Jinxiao.

With Tan Jinxiao's cultivation, the music box alone wouldn't make him fall asleep, but Li Banfeng told him, "Old Tan, you need to sleep. If you don't, I can't remove this mark."

Tan Jinxiao followed Li Banfeng's advice, lay on the bed, listened to the music box's tune, and fell into a deep sleep.

Li Banfeng used the Beggar's Bowl to reach into the dark dimensional space and had the glove extract the copper coin.

Out of curiosity, Li Banfeng probed with the bowl for a moment, only to find that the dark dimensional space within Tan Jinxiao's body was gone.

Dark dimensional spaces don't just vanish into thin air, so why was it undetectable after the copper coin was removed?

After much thought, Li Banfeng came up with a somewhat reasonable hypothesis.

This dark dimensional space was not originally within Old Tan. After Old Tan received the mark, the dark dimensional space came to him on its own and absorbed the copper coin.

This process was difficult to understand. Was it a technique of craftsmanship or some other method?

Li Banfeng twirled the copper coin on his fingertip. This item truly needed to be given to his wife for thorough study.

The building, the copper coin, the dark dimensional space... Mr. Kong Fang wasn't just skilled in combat; his sorcery was also extraordinary.

Tan Jinxiao woke up and, seeing the copper coin in Li Banfeng's hand, exclaimed in astonishment, "This is the mark?"

Li Banfeng nodded slightly.

Tan Jinxiao took the copper coin and examined it, his hand trembling slightly.

He had thought he would never get rid of this mark in his lifetime, never imagining that one day someone could remove it.

"Seventh Master, can this be thrown away...?" Tan Jinxiao didn't dare hold it for too long, afraid the copper coin would re-enter his body. He was truly terrified.

"Don't throw it away; I still have a use for it." Li Banfeng put the copper coin away.

"Seventh Master, I have many brothers who also bear this mark. Could you...?" Tan Jinxiao knew this would be difficult and hesitated to ask directly. He started to speak, then wanted to retract his words.

Li Banfeng nodded. "I can help them remove the mark, but we need to find the right time. They cannot know about this, otherwise, word will surely reach the Proprietor."

Tan Jinxiao nodded repeatedly. He trusted his brothers, but with something of this magnitude, the slightest carelessness could lead to the news leaking out.

He sat uncomfortably before Li Banfeng, unsure how to express his gratitude.

Should he kowtow? Seventh Master didn't allow kneeling or kowtowing.

Invite Seventh Master for a drink? How could a single drink repay such a favor?

Perhaps I should just...

Before Tan Jinxiao could come up with an idea, he saw Li Banfeng walk away with the copper coin. "Carefully inquire about the Proprietor's whereabouts and tell me as soon as you have any news."

They waited for three full days, but there was no movement from the Proprietor; he didn't come to the Human Market.

Tan Jinxiao also found this unusual. "That's strange. Has the Proprietor changed his temperament? The entire Human Market has been completely lost, and he still hasn't shown up? But I reckon he can't hold out much longer. The Human Market is the most profitable place; he definitely won't let go of this business. Let's wait two more days."

Li Banfeng looked at the railway tracks on the road. "No more waiting. We're going directly to the Earth Market."

The tracks had been empty for a full day; no small trains came to collect goods today.

This meant the Proprietor had already taken action, cutting off the Human Market's economic lifeline.

Without shipments, factories would have no source of income. If factories closed, workers would lose their livelihoods.

As for Zhu Yugui's treasury, it did contain a considerable amount of money, enough to sustain things for a while by simply distributing funds.

Should they wait a bit longer?

No, they truly couldn't wait.

The treasury could support the flow of money, but it couldn't sustain morale. Many bosses were already standing with their workers at the factory gates, craning their necks, waiting for the small trains to appear.

Tan Jinxiao looked troubled. "Seventh Master, I'm not chickening out, I just want to suggest, can we not go to the Earth Market? What about the Sea Market first?"

"Why not the Earth Market?"

"Bai Miaosheng, the headman of the Earth Market, is not easy to deal with. You've probably heard that his Plough Cultivation, a sect that has reached the Cloud Realm, is almost perfected. He can grow anything. Moreover, the people living in the Earth Market don't dare challenge the Proprietor; their livelihoods are entirely in his hands. We must first secure the Sea Market to create a path for survival for the Earth Market."

Li Banfeng didn't understand what Tan Jinxiao meant, and Tan Jinxiao couldn't explain it clearly either. "Seventh Master, let's go to the Sea Market together, and you'll understand."

The Sea Market was not close to the Human Market; there was a stretch of road in between, separated by the Earth Market, and the path was completely blocked by oxcarts and horse carts hauling earth, making it impossible to move.

In any other place, Li Banfeng would have taken a detour, but the Underground City was unique. Most roads from the Earth Market to the Sea Market were narrow, long caves, with no way to bypass them.

Li Banfeng looked at the cart drivers; from their attire, they appeared to be farmers.

This was as Li Banfeng expected. The Human Market relied on manpower, so most residents were workers. The Earth Market relied on land, so its residents should logically be farmers.

But why were these farmers hauling so much earth to the Sea Market?

"They're going to exchange soil," Tan Jinxiao explained. "The soil in the Earth Market is dug out from between rocks. It's barely adequate for growing 'light-dependent' seeds, but for 'light-independent' seeds, the fertility isn't enough."

"Light-dependent" seeds referred to normal crops, or in Outer Province terms, plants that grow through photosynthesis.

"Light-independent" seeds sometimes didn't photosynthesize at all, while others performed a unique form of photosynthesis, differing from plants in the traditional sense.

Plants growing in the New Land were 'light-independent' types. Their growth relied on soil fertility, which had a different definition from what was understood in the Outer Provinces. Few people could clearly explain the exact differences.

Tan Jinxiao pointed at a horse-drawn cart laden with earth. "This soil, after a year of cultivation, is completely depleted. Isn't it already spring? Farmers have to hurry and exchange their soil, otherwise, nothing will grow in their fields next year."

Where did they exchange this soil?

Just as Li Banfeng was about to ask for clarification, he heard Xiao Yeci say, "My benefactor, that donkey eats coal!"

The donkey Xiao Yeci referred to was not far from Li Banfeng: gray-haired, long-eared, and large-faced. From its appearance, it was indeed a donkey.

The old man driving the donkey shoveled a scoop of coal from a sack on the cart and offered it to the donkey's mouth.

The donkey chewed and ate it, then brayed several times.

Outside, the spring chill lingered, but inside the cave, it was crowded and somewhat stuffy.

Every time this donkey brayed, it exhaled thick plumes of mist.

It wasn't just this donkey; all the draft animals pulling carts shared a common trait: they exhaled large amounts of white mist with every breath.

This clearly wasn't the animals breathing; it was a steam engine expelling steam.

"Are these Inner Province animals? They look like livestock, but they're actually machines."

Tan Jinxiao shook his head. "They can't be considered to have come from the Inner Province. Like Old Chen's wife, it's unclear where they're from. Some say they grew from the earth, others say they were born from water, and some even claim they transformed from insects. Some say they've existed since the day people first arrived at Three-Fork Junction. When the Inner Province invaded, they didn't interact with them. When people from the Prolo Province arrived, they didn't get close to them either. Outsiders wanted to take them away for study, but once they leave Three-Fork Junction, they don't get far before they cease to exist. Their bodies shatter, and their souls are nowhere to be found."

Li Banfeng patted a cow beside him.

The cow looked at Li Banfeng, appearing annoyed, wary, and somewhat fearful. It let out a sound and hid beside its owner.

Seeing the cow's look of aversion, Li Banfeng gave a dry laugh. "Their temperament is quite unusual."

Tan Jinxiao nodded. "Indeed, they're different. They only become close with people from Three-Fork Junction. If someone with a home in Three-Fork Junction makes eye contact with them, they're willing to live together."

Li Banfeng asked, "Has any of them ever made eye contact with you?"

Tan Jinxiao lowered his head and whispered, "If there truly was one, my children would be old enough to run errands."

Li Banfeng lifted his hat brim, wide-eyed. "What did you just say? They can have children?"

Tan Jinxiao nodded. "Yes, they can! Some are born human, some are born similar to them, and some even form their own lineage after birth, not resembling either side!"

Li Banfeng was speechless.

He looked at the cow again, unsure what to call these beings.

Calling them machines was definitely unsuitable.

Robots? That didn't seem right either.

"What do you usually call them?"

Tan Jinxiao replied, "We usually call them 'locals' because they never leave Three-Fork Junction."

Locals?

Where did these locals come from?

This term triggered some associations in Li Banfeng's mind.

"Has no 'local' ever left Three-Fork Junction?"

Tan Jinxiao thought for a long time. "There have been, but I can't recall things from too long ago. Let's talk about more recent events. A few years back, a young man who gathered herbs in the mountains saved a good amount of money and left Three-Fork Junction. It's said that a 'local' who was like a brother to him went with him. As for what that 'local' looked like, there are many versions: some say a cat, some a bird, some a horse, and some even claim it was a gun he often used. That's how the story goes, but whether it's true or false, I can't say for sure."

The two continued talking as they followed the flow of people forward.

After walking for a full day, Li Banfeng detected a damp, fishy smell.

It was the distinct fishy scent of rivers and lakes. Li Banfeng walked a bit further and heard the sound of waves crashing against rocks!

The sound of the tide!

Li Banfeng followed the crowd forward. The path became faster, and the pace of the crowd accelerated.

Soon, the narrow and confined tunnel ended. The converging crowd dispersed as the area ahead was wide open, providing ample space for the farmers who had traveled so far.

Li Banfeng stood on the sandy shore, gazing into the distance.

He saw stone pillars extending from the ceiling down to the water's surface, and stalagmites rising from beneath the water to the ceiling. He saw ethereal, indistinct mists swirling and intertwining in the darkness.

The scenery was indeed magnificent, but none of that was the main point.

The main point was that Li Banfeng saw the sea.

Within the extremely oppressive confines of the cave, he saw a boundless expanse of sea.

This phenomenon was inexplicable. The cave walls vanished here, or perhaps they extended beyond Li Banfeng's line of sight.

Yet, Li Banfeng could still clearly see the mottled rock ceiling and the turbulent sea beneath it.

Waves surged onto the shore, and the deafening roar of the tide echoed repeatedly within the cave.

Li Banfeng scooped up some seawater into his palm. The water was cool and clear, and crucially, it lacked the saltiness of seawater from the Outer Provinces. He turned to Tan Jinxiao and asked, "Is it drinkable?"

"Yes!" Tan Jinxiao nodded. "It's different from the Outer Provinces; this seawater is fresh and much cleaner than the water outside!"

Just as Li Banfeng was about to take a sip to taste it, he suddenly heard a fight break out nearby.

"You didn't give me enough soil! I just unloaded the cart, and the mound is right there. How much did you exchange for me? Let's compare right here, which pile of soil is taller."

"What you're saying is useless. We go by the scale, not the pile. It's pound for pound. If you don't agree, take it away."

"Your scale must be wrong! Soil prices rose this year, and you're still not giving enough. You're swindling people!"

A farmer and a boat owner had started fighting.

Tan Jinxiao lowered his voice. "Seventh Master, this is the soil exchange: old soil for new soil, and they still have to add money. It's not easy for farmers to earn money. Sixty percent of their household's grain goes to rent. Of the remaining forty percent, twenty percent is kept for their own consumption, ten percent is sold at the market, and the last ten percent is all used to exchange for new soil."

Li Banfeng asked, "Where does this new soil come from?"

Tan Jinxiao looked into the distance. "It comes from Soil Nurturing Island. That island is quite far; a round trip by boat takes three to five days. Farmers from the Earth Market bring their old soil to the Sea Market, pay money, and take new soil back. The boats from the Sea Market then take the old soil to Soil Nurturing Island, unload it, load new soil, and return. This is the annual soil exchange, a major operation for both the Earth Market and the Sea Market."

It was indeed a massive undertaking, especially for the farmers of the Earth Market.

An old farmer had just loaded a cart with soil. Li Banfeng looked at the quantity and asked, "How much land can this cover? Half an *mu*?"

"Half a *mu*?" Tan Jinxiao shook his head. "Seventh Master, you're joking. Ten cartloads of soil aren't even enough to cover one *mu* of land! Soil exchange isn't an overnight task. It has to start right after the autumn harvest, and apart from two days' rest for the New Year, they spend the entire winter running back and forth. Even with such frantic effort, the soil exchange isn't finished by spring!"

Li Banfeng watched as many more people in the distance drove draft animals, pulling soil towards the shore. The crowd flowed ceaselessly through the narrow cave, like...

...like a train moving through a tunnel.

"Why don't they use trains to transport soil?" Li Banfeng pondered. "Wouldn't it be much faster to bring the old soil by train than by oxcart or horse cart? And it wouldn't require so many farmers to come here; a team of loaders would be enough!"

Tan Jinxiao sighed. "That's true in theory, but the Proprietor said we can't build so many railways."

"Why not? Doesn't the Human Market have plenty of railways?"

"Seventh Master, the railways in the Human Market are for transporting goods! Transporting goods is for the Underground City's business, and that's a pressing matter!"

Li Banfeng found this statement even more problematic. "Exchanging soil is for farming, and farming is for eating. Isn't eating a pressing matter?"

Tan Jinxiao was speechless; it wasn't his decision.

Li Banfeng, however, saw the pattern. "Spring planting, autumn harvest, and then soil exchange in winter—this keeps people busy all year round, doesn't it?"

Tan Jinxiao nodded. "Yes, they don't want people idle. They're afraid people might start thinking. Seventh Master, that's also why I told you not to go to the Earth Market before. Soil is the farmers' life. If we go to the Earth Market during soil exchange, and the Proprietor blocks the path to the Sea Market, the soil can't be exchanged, and without a harvest for a year, how will the farmers live? That's why, to take the Earth Market, we must first secure the Sea Market."

"Do you think the Sea Market will be so easy to take?" A boatman nearby, wearing black trousers, a blue jacket, and a conical hat, smiled at the two of them.

Tan Jinxiao glanced at the boatman. "Guan Huodong, what a coincidence you've arrived."

Guan Huodong shook his head. "It's no coincidence. You two were talking so loudly; I've been watching you for a while."

This was Guan Huodong, the headman of the Sea Market. He was a 'Peeking Cultivator' of the Cloud Realm, with his 'hooks' everywhere from the shoreline to the sea surface. Even with the subtle nature of House Cultivation, it was difficult to escape his ears.

Li Banfeng looked Guan Huodong up and down and asked very seriously, "Does your name have any particular meaning?"

Guan Huodong frowned. "What concern is that of yours?"

Tan Jinxiao interjected, "He chose this name himself. It means 'seeing clearly like observing a fire through a cave'!"

Li Banfeng was taken aback. "I hadn't thought of that!"

Tan Jinxiao exclaimed admiringly, "Most people wouldn't think of it. Guan Huodong's name is quite literary; he's an educated man!"

The two spoke and laughed, as if the situation before them was nothing significant.

Guan Huodong chuckled. "Old Tan, you're still clowning around when death is upon you. Let me give you a tip: next time you come to the Sea Market, don't talk so loudly. It makes you seem foolish, clumsy, and like you haven't learned your lesson!"

As his words fell, Guan Huodong's gaze shifted, fixing on Li Banfeng. His right hand clenched into a fist.

His words were directed at Tan Jinxiao, but his attack was aimed at Li Banfeng. He put all his strength into this blow, intending to at least incapacitate Li Banfeng if he couldn't kill him.

Before Tan Jinxiao could react, Li Banfeng clutched his chest and collapsed to the ground, as if suffering a heart attack.

What happened...?

Tan Jinxiao was stunned. Li Banfeng could help him remove the mark, so why hadn't he removed the mark from himself?

"Don't worry about him; it's your turn now." Guan Huodong looked at Tan Jinxiao with a smile. Just as he was about to clench his fist, he suddenly felt someone standing behind him.

Li Banfeng stood behind him, smiling slightly. "I think you're the one in a hurry. It's only just your turn; it's not his yet."